Journalism Students Grill State Assemblyman
State Assemblyman Andrew Raia is serving his fourth term in Albany’s lower house and he has plenty to say about New York’s financial turmoil and the failure of legislative leaders and Governor David Paterson to agree on a state budget, which is now nearly two months late. There are a number of other issues on his mind, too.
A select group of five Huntington High School seniors, including Danielle Catanese, Ryan Greenhill, Elizabeth Mohr, Alexandra Newton, and Catherine Tacopina, recently traveled to the Half Hollow Hills Public Library to participate in a mock press conference with Mr. Raia. The youthful state lawmaker enjoys holding such events and attending career days at local high schools.
Members of the Huntington delegation are enrolled in a journalism elective course led by high school English teacher Victoria Lombardi. Several Long Island high schools sent students to the mock “presser.” Mr. Raia covered a number of areas, including what it’s like to life and work in Albany. The local assemblyman, who represents parts of Huntington, Babylon and Islip, detailed some of his proposals to establish school district codes of conduct addressing bullying issues and establishing tougher penalties for online harassment.
“Cyber-bullying is a real danger to young people today,” Mr. Raia said. “Currently, New York is still one of nine states with no anti-bullying laws on the books. In participating in the cyber-bullying press conference, I hope these budding journalists took away both a valuable experience as well as vital information about the fight to prevent online bullying and harassment among students.”
The students were impressive in grilling Mr. Raia during the session. Students pored over press packets, took notes and weren’t afraid to speak-up and jump into the mix. When the event was over, the teenagers and Ms. Lombardi gathered around the assemblyman for a photo op.
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